What boardgame is best at creating the thematic experience of the movie Aliens or the game Space Hulk? Solo play possibility would be a plus.

I have not played Space Hulk so I can only comment on the feel of the movie aliens.

Of the games that I have played, Forlorn: Hope is indeed your best bet. The game really does its best to channel aliens. I know that you said component quality is an issue, and it is true that the component quality of victory point games can be low. My copy of Forlorn Hope is one I traded for, and the original owner did upgrade it. He bought small clips to use as stands for the paper miniatures, and he matted the boards to foam board. While it is not to a Fantasy Flight level, I am happy with the quality of my copy of the game.

Another game you might want to look into is Space Hulk: Death Angel – The Card Game. The game has an oppressive feel, as space marines drop left and right. Because it is a card game, the feeling of exploring a space ship is very abstracted. I personally did not like this game because luck is a cruel mistress, and I felt that winning had less to do with my play and more to do with lucky dice rolls.

It has been a very long time since I have played it, but Aliens vs. Predator might be worth considering. It is a dead CCG. One of the unique things about the game is that it played out a lot like a board game as players built the "map" by playing location cards. I do not know how cheap this game is today, but with a decent card pool you could make a marines deck and an aliens deck to play against each other.

Finally, I would not recommend Gears of War. I have only played it once, but it does not have an "Aliens" feel. The game is more of a straight up slug fest.

There is a road, no simple highway, between the dawn and the dark of night, and if you go no one may follow, that path is for your steps alone. Ripple in still water, when there is no pebble tossed, nor wind to blow.

To seek the sacred river Alph, to walk the caves of ice, to break my fast on honey dew and drink the milk of paradise... I had heard the whispered tales of immortality, the deepest mystery, from an ancient book I took a clue.

Space Infantry by Lock n' Load games may also be worth a look. Solitaire only, but a fun game in my opinion.

Humans in power armor, fighting an non-human enemy -- in this case, various types of robots representing a machine intelligence. Combat takes place along maze-like corridors and rooms, representing an underground facility. More tactical options than Space Hulk.

Out of print, but you should be able to pick one up for under $80. Just make sure you get the version with the metal miniatures, not standups.

What boardgame is best at creating the thematic experience of the movie Aliens or the game Space Hulk? Solo play possibility would be a plus.

Best board game for "creating the thematic experience of the movie Aliens". Hmmm, that is a tough one. Hey here's an idea! What about the board game (also with miniatures!) called Aliens.

However, there is down side to getting this game. It's Out Of PrintPrintPrintPrint. But a friend of mine got a great copy off of ebay, and another buddy simply just made his own copy of the game. So if you really wanted it...

There are several new copies listed in the Marketplace for $150. The game was $100 with no discounts when it was released - a 50% premium is not that much for an out-of-print game. It's quite a good game too. And if components matter, it's going to blow anything from FFG and the like out of the water.

Yes, I agree with Lastalchemist. Incursion is probably the closest a person can get to the gameplay and feel of Space Hulk without just playing Space Hulk, although the setting loses the sci-fi space marines versus hordes of clawed alien monstrosities theme. Instead it goes for a horror WWII theme with G.I.s in Roswell Crash engineered power armor versus hordes of German zombies and werewolves created by a mad scientist's "V-Gas" and led by Nazi supersoldiers.

Since it comes with cardboard stand-ups instead of miniatures, it's significantly cheaper than Space Hulk. If a person is willing to spend the moolah at a later date however, there is an incredibly detailed line of Incursion miniatures for sale.

But if it's specifically the Aliens license that grabs you, you pretty much have to go with the Aliens boardgame. Everything I've ever read about it says it's an awesome game.

Yes, I agree with Lastalchemist. Incursion is probably the closest a person can get to the gameplay and feel of Space Hulk without just playing Space Hulk, although the setting loses the sci-fi space marines versus hordes of clawed alien monstrosities theme. Instead it goes for a horror WWII theme with G.I.s in Roswell Crash engineered power armor versus hordes of German zombies and werewolves created by a mad scientist's "V-Gas" and led by Nazi supersoldiers.

Since it comes with cardboard stand-ups instead of miniatures, it's significantly cheaper than Space Hulk. If a person is willing to spend the moolah at a later date however, there is an incredibly detailed line of Incursion miniatures for sale.

But if it's specifically the Aliens license that grabs you, you pretty much have to go with the Aliens boardgame. Everything I've ever read about it says it's an awesome game.

What about Claustrophobia? It has tight corridors, seemingly oppressive odds, quick game play, and a foreboding theme.

I bought Claustrophobia because I wanted Space Hulk, but couldn't justify the expense. I have never regretted it!

Claustrophobia looks great:

It produces incredibly tense gameplay - almost all of my games have been nail-biters right down to the end! I always liken it to stepping into the third act of a good action movie - all the setup is out of the way and now it's just the heart-pounding finish!

Claustrophobia is asymmetrical down to it's bones: - Humans and demons are opposites in terms of gameplay. Humans start strong and get weaker as they are hurt in play. Demon player starts weak but accrues threat inexorably as the game goes on- The sides play totally different games, except for movement and interaction on the board! -- Humans roll dice and assign actions to individuals on the board.-- Demons roll dice and assign individual or sets of dice to actions ("get more threat") or powers ("reroll failed attacks"), then spend threat to summon more creatures, then move and attack with their demon hordes!

The five or so scenarios included in the book have great replayability, plus the designer, Croc, has released a baker's dozen of new scenarios on his blog and here on the Geek. A retail expansion taunted me by being at GenCon but unavailable for purchase.

Just to show that everyone is different, I tried Claustrophobia, and while a neat game, it just wasn't a game I would like playing if I had another choice.

That's the problem when someone asks, "What is the best game to play something-or-rather." because the suggestions you get might not be the best ones for you. Granted, it's a good start to see what is out there and to see what others might recommend, but in the end its up to you to do the research and pick the game which is best for you and your tastes.

Just to show that everyone is different, I tried Claustrophobia, and while a neat game, it just wasn't a game I would like playing if I had another choice.

That's the problem when someone asks, "What is the best game to play something-or-rather." because the suggestions you get might not be the best ones for you. Granted, it's a good start to see what is out there and to see what others might recommend, but in the end its up to you to do the research and pick the game which is best for you and your tastes.

I own both Space Hulk and Claustrophobia, and while both are good games I definitely prefer the latter:

* It looks beautiful right out of the box, without any need to snip, assemble, and paint the figures.* It plays more quickly than Space Hulk (~50min vs 1.5 hr).* It allows for some surprisingly tactical decisions with just a few simple rules governing movement.* The demon player in Claustrophobia has far more interesting choices to make than does the gene stealer player in Space Hulk.

On the downside, some players might prefer Space Hulk's Aliens-like sci fi theme to Claustrophobia's crusaders-versus-demons fantasy theme. Some might also prefer Space Hulk's grid- and action point-based movement to Claustrophobia's more abstracted tile-to-tile movement, feeling that the former allows for more precise tactical play. (Personally I find Space Hulk's movement/action system leads to a lot of fussy counting that bogs the game down, even with the sand timer.)

Just like some people don't prefer playing games like Struggle of Empires, Titan, or Samurai, which to me are some great games!

Not everyone likes the same games. Heck, I even know someone who only plays RPG games, which I guess says something about him.

tssfulk wrote:

What didn't you like a Claustro?

RayGuns wrote:

Just to show that everyone is different, I tried Claustrophobia, and while a neat game, it just wasn't a game I would like playing if I had another choice.

That's the problem when someone asks, "What is the best game to play something-or-rather." because the suggestions you get might not be the best ones for you. Granted, it's a good start to see what is out there and to see what others might recommend, but in the end its up to you to do the research and pick the game which is best for you and your tastes.

Theme is sometimes a large factor in people decisions about whether they like a game or not. I'm another one of those who wants Space Hulk but simply can't afford to throw down $150 or more on it. While I do prefer the sci-fi/space theme of Space Hulk, Claustrophobia has a lot going for it in comparison, and the pre-painted miniatures are definitely a plus. I'm this close to buying it.